Oct 8, 2024 1:11 PM
Cecil Taylor: The Final Years
The Kyoto Prize is not as well-known as the Guggenheim fellowship, or the MacArthur grant, both of which pianist,…
Cecil Taylor, one of the greatest pianists of the avant garde, was taken advantage of before his death in 2018.
Oct 8, 2024 1:11 PM
The Kyoto Prize is not as well-known as the Guggenheim fellowship, or the MacArthur grant, both of which pianist,…
“When I heard Jackie McLean, it was like the perfect mixture of bebop or hard-bop, but also some edge,” says Monford.
Nov 6, 2024 12:05 PM
It’s tough to rank jazz’s most important cities, but the top centers of activity have to include Chicago, Detroit,…
“I think his music is amazing, but I want other people to be engaged with his music as well,” said vocalist Fay Victor about composer Herbie Nichols.
Jul 23, 2024 1:59 PM
Herbie Nichols is one of the great should-have-been stories in jazz. Born in New York in 1919 to parents from Trinidad…
“I’m just trying to write from a calm place,” Laubrock says of her latest work.
Jun 6, 2023 2:35 PM
The lines between jazz and classical used to be more stark, but they were never seamless — even before composer and…
“I like the idea of being the owner of my music and my masters and having total control over it,” Premazzi says of her DIY career.
Apr 11, 2023 11:01 AM
Simona Premazzi speaks of her art with a calm self-assurance tempered by enthusiasm and curiosity.
She knows what…
“There’s enough average piano trio records out there, and I didn’t want to contribute to that kind of sonic pollution, you know?” Escreet said about waiting to record his own trio date.
Nov 15, 2022 3:43 PM
Pianist John Escreet has always had ideas. Born in England, he migrated to New York in his early 20s to study at the…
Void Patrol is a collection of five tracks, all named after stars and all constructed remotely, layer by layer.
Oct 11, 2022 3:09 PM
For almost all of 2020, it was unsafe for musicians to gather together in small rooms and throw ideas back and forth in…
Drummer Nate Smith honors his musical family.
Jan 4, 2022 12:58 PM
Drummer Nate Smith’s album Kinfolk 2: See The Birds (Edition) is the second volume in a planned trilogy, and while…
Michael Dease is the Trombonist of the Year in DownBeat’s 69th Annual Critics Poll.
Aug 30, 2021 2:23 PM
Michael Dease took a circuitous route to discovering his chosen instrument. He started out as an alto saxophonist…
Pi founders Yulun Wang (left) and Seth Rosner
Jun 23, 2021 4:07 PM
Pi Recordings is one of the most respected labels in jazz, routinely presenting innovative, challenging work from…
Giacomo Bruzzo’s RareNoise label has built a catalog filled with adventurous releases.
May 12, 2020 8:58 AM
Before he was a label owner, Giacomo Bruzzo was a frustrated finance bro. Born in Italy, he moved to the U.K. in 1991,…
Gard Nilssen performs with his Accoustic Unity ensemble during the 2019 jazzahead! conference in Bremen, Germany.
Apr 10, 2020 8:14 PM
More than a few bands in the past have featured two drummers: The J.B.’s, The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band…
Avram Fefer expands his trio by adding guitarist Marc Ribot.
Jan 9, 2020 9:25 AM
Saxophonist Avram Fefer is drawn to musicians who push the outer limits of what’s possible. Ornette Coleman, Wayne…
Jerome Jennings follows up his 2016 release, The Beast, with Solidarity.
Dec 12, 2019 10:15 AM
Jerome Jennings stays focused on his goals. After getting his start in his home state of Ohio, he earned degrees from…
The sound of pianist Marilyn Crispell changed following a trip to a festival in Stockholm: “I heard them playing stuff that really, really touched me.”
Oct 31, 2019 2:42 PM
In 1985, writer Graham Lock joined saxophonist Anthony Braxton and his band on a tour of England, making stops in…
JD Allen’s latest effort, Barracoon, is predicated on emotion more than charts.
Sep 27, 2019 9:25 AM
Bar Bayeux is a narrow venue tucked between a hair salon and a deli on Brooklyn’s Nostrand Avenue.
There’s just…
Rob Mazurek has three new releases on the Astral Spirits label.
Oct 11, 2019 9:25 AM
In a climatic gun battle in John Sandford’s 2017 crime novel, Golden Prey, bullets tear through a room in Marfa,…
Johnathan Blake takes musical cues from his late father, John Blake Jr., a violinist who performed with McCoy Tyner and Archie Shepp.
May 7, 2019 9:40 AM
It’s a biting-cold January day in Manhattan.
The wind howls around corners and between the buildings with…
Eric Harland (left), Chris Potter and James Francies have recorded a new album, Circuits.
Apr 16, 2019 9:22 AM
Saxophonist Chris Potter’s new album, Circuits, simultaneously is a step forward and a return to earlier territory.…
Joseph Jarman (1937–2019)
Feb 24, 2020 10:15 AM
Multi-instrumentalist Joseph Jarman, best known as a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago from 1970 to 1993 and again…
Maja S.K. Ratkje performs at the Rune Grammofon 20th anniversary celebration at Nasjonal Jazzscene in Oslo, Norway.
Jan 4, 2019 12:22 PM
Back in the ’80s, Rune Kristoffersen was a founding member of the Norwegian post-punk/new wave band Fra Lippo Lippi.…
Tyshawn Sorey recently issued music through the digital platform PEOPLE.
Aug 16, 2018 11:58 AM
Tyshawn Sorey’s days as a sideman might be coming to an end. “I’ve lived that life, and it was great during its…
Drummer Tony Allen has claimed to be able to play a different time signature with each limb simultaneously.
Mar 5, 2018 1:56 PM
Tony Allen has one of the most recognizable drum sounds on the planet. His polyrhythmic style, which combines swing,…
Greg Howe (left) and Roscoe Mitchell at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, on Nov. 9.
Apr 26, 2017 9:13 AM
Saxophonist Kamasi Washington achieved stardom with his 2015 three-CD set, The Epic, and his work on rapper Kendrick…
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